Abducted from a life of privilege, she was sold into slavery in a distant land. For Lady Janet Leslie there would be no escaping the harem of the wealthy and powerful Sultan Selim. But from the moment the handsome ruler spied his breathtaking “Cyra,” was captivated — by the fiery desire that coursed through his veins. She belonged to him, body and soul -yet it was he who was enslaved.

Praised for her keen sense of history and remarkable storytelling powers, the bestselling author of The Spitfire displays the passionate magic that has made her a national favorite -sweeping the reader into the romantic past, from the magnificence of Renaissance Europe to the perfumed splendor of a Sultan’s court.

I don’t believe I’ve seen a Bertrice Small deal before. Small is from romance genre’s bodice rippiest days. It would not surprise me in the least if someone in the comments mentions that this book has forced seduction in it, or worse.

Everything Is Going to Be Great: An Underfunded and Overexposed European Grand Tour by Rachel Shukert. $ 1.99

From the Jacket Copy:

When she lands a coveted nonpaying, nonspeaking role in a play going on a European tour, Rachel Shukert—with a brand-new degree in acting from NYU and no money—finally scores her big break. And, after a fluke at customs in Vienna, she gets her golden ticket: an unstamped passport, giving her free rein to “find herself” on a grand tour of Europe. Traveling from Vienna to Zurich to Amsterdam, Rachel bounces through complicated relationships, drunken mishaps, miscommunication, and the reality-adjusting culture shock that every twentysomething faces when sent off to negotiate “the real world”—whatever that may be.

Reviews were pretty positive calling this a genuinely funny coming of age story that spans continents. Great for the armchair traveler.

In this dazzling new novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander welcomes you to Millworth Manor, a delightful English country estate where love is always perfectly at home. . .

For Winfield Elliott, Viscount Stillwell, finding a prospective bride always seemed easy. Perhaps too easy. With three broken engagements to his name, Win is the subject of endless gossip. Yet his current mission is quite noble: to hire a company to repair his family’s fire-damaged country house. Nothing disreputable in that–until the firm’s representative turns out to be a very desirable widow.

Lady Miranda Garrett expected a man of Win’s reputation to be flirtatious, even charming. But the awkward truth is that she finds him thoroughly irresistible. While Miranda resides at Millworth to oversee the work, Win occupies her days, her dreams. . .and soon, her bed. For the first time, the wicked Win has fallen in love. And what began as a scandalous proposition may yet become a very different proposal. . .

PW calls the romance plodding and says “The saving grace is the novella at the end introducing each of Winfield’s three ex-fiancées, who have distinct personalities and are much more fun to read about than Miranda.”

Have you ever wondered what happens to the other people in the fairy tale?

Things look grim for Talia and her mother. By royal proclamation, the constables and those annoying “good” fairies have taken away their livelihood by confiscating their spinning wheel. Something to do with a curse on the princess, they said.

Not every young lady has a fairy godmother rushing to her rescue.

Without the promise of an income from spinning, Talia’s prospects for marriage disappear, and she and her mother face destitution. Past caring about breaking an arbitrary and cruel law, rebellious Talia determines to build a new spinning wheel, the only one in the nation—which plays right into the evil fairy’s diabolical plan. Talia discovers that finding a happy ending requires sacrifice. But is it a sacrifice she’s willing to make?

This is the first book in the loosely connected Accidental Enchantments series. It is 97 pages according to Goodreads and I include it only because the second version is also $2.99. From the reviews, it sounds like this is more erotic fiction that erotic romance and Sarah from The Bookpushers writes “I did come into this story expecting a steamy romance and a strong plot of the blurb above, but the spinning wheel story is touched upon slightly, and it’s more about Talia’s life, the lovers she takes throughout the years, and her feeling of self-worth and happiness.”

Prince Richard is cursed. Enslaved to a magic mirror, he must truthfully answer the evil queen when she uses it to call on him. To keep from betraying innocents, Richard wanders the countryside and avoids people.

All her life, Gretchen has been teased for being small. When she hears of a hidden farm populated by little people like her, she sets out to find it—and is welcomed by the mostly male inhabitants. Lars in particular woos her with his gentle kindness and quiet strength.

Danger looms when Gretchen meets a runaway princess and offers her shelter at the Little Farm. Wandering nearby, Richard instantly falls in love with the beautiful princess, and is later compelled to tell the queen that she is not the fairest of them all. Enraged, the queen vows to find them and destroy them.

If either Gretchen or Richard are to have their happy endings, they must team up to break the mirror’s spell before the queen kills them all?

For another fairy tale retelling from Tia Nevitt, check out The Sevenfold Spell, available now!

43,000 words

This book is the second in the Accidental Enchantments series and unlike the original novella, it does appear this is more romantic. The reviews are positive and say that while the outcome is known, the path there is twisty.

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Jane Litte is the founder of Dear Author, a lawyer, and a lover of pencil skirts. She spends her downtime reading romances and writing about them. Her TBR pile is much larger than the one shown in the picture and not as pretty.
You can reach Jane by email at jane @ dearauthor dot com

9 Comments

Don’t knock “The Kadin”! I once scored extra-extra credit on a history exam in high school because I knew who Sulieman the Magnificent was — all because I read this book!
I remember some “ravishing” going on, but I’m 90% sure the hero (Selim) did not force himself on the heroine (Janet/Cyra). Of course I think she was 14 or 15 years old when she was kidnapped and wound up sold into his harem, so questions of consent are certainly VERY germaine here. Still, I remember liking the book. It covered her life from the teen years till she was in her 60s and had lots of really good harem intrigue and political wrangling since she was the kadin of one sultan and the mother of another during the height of the Ottoman Empire. She also wielded a lot of influence and got to be an “eccentric” on her return to Scotland at the end.

I didn’t mind the “plodding” romance in Victoria Alexander’s The Importance of Being Wicked.. but the word wicked is used more than 70 times within the text. I counted that word 6 times within 1 kindle page. It got to be really irritating while reading through the book. And the hero is pretty far from wicked, fwiw.

I read The Kadin a long time ago but what I remember enjoying was the vivid descriptions of life in the harem and the lives of the women in it. If I recall correctly this book wasn’t quite a typical romance but it did have a HEA of a sort and it definitely has the sweeping epic thing going. But be warned, at least for me, this book pretty much defines 80’s bodice rippers. Questionable consent is definitely a part of the story. I mean it IS a kidnapped and forced into a harem story so if that’s not your deal then look elsewhere. But at .99 cents it sounds like a good deal and I’m going to pick it up for a re-read.

Didn’t every heroine in early Beatrice Small books get kidnapped and sold into harems? But, yeah, I remember thinking The Kadin was the coolest of them because so much of the story is focused on the politics and hierarchy of the women in the Harem. And Cyra Hafise becomes a major power player. Some romance purists may not necessarily like it because the story strongly focuses on the heroine’s life span and how totally extraordinary her life events were. Also if I recall she has multiple loves.

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